UMF LESSON PLAN FORMAT


Teacher’s Name: Marie Doucette Lesson # : 6

Grade Level: 11-12 Topic: Executive Branch


Objectives:

Student will understand that
the three major branches of government have specific purposes, ideals, and principles that they each uphold.
Student will know
The Presidents Cabinet - Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments-the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Under President George W. Bush, Cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Director, National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative
Student will be able to do
a. Explain that the study of government includes the structures, functions, institutions, and forms of government and the relationship of government to citizens in the United States and in other regions of the world.

Maine Learning Results Alignment

Maine Learning Results: Social Studies - B. Civics and Government
B1 Knowledge, Concepts, Themes, and Patterns of Civics/Government
Grades 9-Diploma
Students understand the ideals, purposes, principles, structures, and processes of constitutional government in the United States and in the American political system, as well as examples of other forms of government and political systems in the world.

a. Explain that the study of government includes the structures, functions, institutions, and forms of government and the relationship of government to citizens in the United States and in other regions of the world.

Rational:
In this lesson students will become aware that our government works in many, many ways with different ways with many different people. They will see the variety of departments that the President works with and that they affect the citizens of this country and also citizens in other countries.


Assessment

Formative (Assessment for Learning)
*Pre and Post assessment of what the President does – Students will write a paragraph at the beginning of the lesson to describe what they think the President actually does. After the lesson they will right another paragraph on the same subject. From this the teacher will be able to see the learning that they have acquired in just this lesson.
Questionnaire/Checklist – The questionnaire will provide a guide as the student’s research the links on the internet and will provide the teacher with valuable information as the students finish up the research section of the lesson. The checklist will provide the students with an assessment tool to ensure a quality product.

Summative (Assessment of Learning)
*Wiki Page on Executive Branch and Departments – Their Wiki page is due by the following class. At this time they will comment on each others product and their page will an allotted number of points on their page (see syllabus) that will contribute to the student’s final grade in the class. The student will still have one more chance to revise their lesson page for more points. At the end of the Unit they can meet with the teacher to discuss the changes in the Lesson Wiki and what points should be earned.

Integration

Type II technology will be used throughout the lesson: the internet will be used for research, the building of Inspiration diagrams, and Wiki Lesson pages will also be part of the process. On the lesson pages students will link their diagram and comment on peer's work.

Groupings

Jig Saw groupings will be used to collect all the information on the Department heads.
To find the answers to the question: "What limits can the Executive branch impose on the Judiciary and Legislative branches?" students will have a choice of researching on their own or working in small groups.

Differentiated Instruction

Strategies
*Linguistic: Students will quick write using their linguistic intelligence.
Logical: The list of cabinet members will help students keep their thoughts organized.
Spatial: The use of the Inspiration program.
Bodily-Kinesthetic: Students will be moving around during the jig saw group work.
Musical: Hail to the Chief, and a few other patriotic songs will help connect this intelligence to the Executive branch.
Interpersonal: Students will use this intelligence during brainstorming and group work.
Intrapersonal: The students will use this intelligence when they are quick writing their thoughts and in their journaling.
Naturalist: Barney Cam is of a dog and may contain nature topics (2007).

Modifications/Accommodations
*I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.

If students are absent, for one reason or another, they are responsible for consulting one of their fellow classmates, me, or the class wiki in order to acquire any information that they may not have received in their absence. If students provide me with evidence (a note from a parent/guardian, a physician, a coach or another teacher) of extenuating circumstances that prevented them from contacting anyone about the assignment and/or completing the assignment, than I will gladly provide them with extra time to do the work at no peril to their grade on the assignment. The amount of time granted for an extension on an assignment may vary depending on factors such as the length of the assignment or the extenuating circumstances mentioned previously. However, if there are no extenuating circumstances involved, I will deduct one point from your participation grade for each day (not class period) that the work is not completed.
Extensions
*Type II technology will be used in researching the Executive Branch and Department Secretaries. The use of the Wiki page where students will build their lesson page and comment on their peer's work is also a type II use of technology that will be integrated into this lesson.

Materials, Resources and Technology

Barney Cam 2007 http://www.whitehouse.gov/query.html?charset=iso-8859-1&col=colpics&qt=Barney+Cam&st=1
Questionnaire/study guide/checklist
Computers
Internet availability
Inspiration program
Wiki rubric


Source for Lesson Plan and Research

List of resources from
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/cabinet/index.html</span> Thank you.
Inspiration program
Wikispaces


The President's Cabinet:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html
Department of Agriculture:
http://www.usda.gov/
Department of Commerce:
http://www.doc.gov/
Department of Defense:
http://www.defenselink.mil/
Department of Education:
http://www.ed.gov/
Department of Energy:
http://www.energy.gov/
Department of Health and Human Services:
http://www.os.dhhs.gov/
Department of Housing and Urban Development:
http://www.hud.gov/
Department of the Interior:
http://www.doi.gov/
Department of Justice:
http://www.usdoj.gov
Department of State:
http://www.state.gov/
Department of Transportation:
http://www.dot.gov/
Department of the Treasury:
http://www.ustreas.gov/
Department of Veterans Affairs:
http://www.va.gov/
Department of Homeland Security:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deptofhomeland/
Welcome to the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
White House Press Releases:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/white-house/white-house.html
The White House: President, First Lady, Vice President, Second Lady
http://www.whitehouse.gov
The United Nations can be reached at:
http://www.un.org

Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale

Standard 3 - Demonstrates a knowledge of the diverse ways in which students learn and develop by providing learning opportunities that support their intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and cultural development.
Rationale:
This lesson demonstrates the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification by consistently having students make the connection between content and their own background experience in the following ways: the use of technology (like Wiki pages and blogs) will tap into students previous experiences with technology and provide a tool that they are familiar and comfortable working with; the use of a questionnaire and checklist will provide support and guidance to those who are not as comfortable in the digital world; the use of groups will provide the students with an emotional and social environment that leans on preset relationships; the Inspiration diagram will help the students to put the information together in an way that will help them remember the content of the class activities; the use of peer review of the Wiki pages will allow more exposure to the content (and be used as self assessments) and provide feedback that will be used to refine their own Wiki pages (that will be used as formative assessments); and the use of blogs will allow the students to reflect on the class content and how they relate to it.

Standard 4 - Plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, curriculum goals, and learning and development theory.
Rationale:
This lesson demonstrates the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification by use of a pre-unit assessment to gage student’s prior knowledge of government and allow lesson adjustment to better meet the learning needs of the students. A pre and post lesson assessment will also be used to help the students be more aware of their personal growth. The theory of backwards design was used to develop this unit, keeping in mind the summative assessment, the big ideas, and the MLR as the student’s progress through the lesson. MI theory has been used to utilize the various students learning strengths. Because of this, the student’s products from the lessons will be used to build their final assessment of mastery. Student's IEPs, 504s or ELLIDEPs will be reviewed and the appropriate modifications and accommodations will be made.
Standard 5 - Understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies and appropriate technology to meet students’ needs.
Rationale:
This lesson demonstrates the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification by using media and technology tools in the following ways: the Internet will be used as a research tool and to build interpersonal connections; Inspiration will be used to synthesize knowledge; Wiki pages will be utilized as a student "portfolio" where they will keep document all their work, give and receive feedback, refine their work; a blog will be used to journal their thoughts on class content; and students will be placed into groups to research.

Standard 8 - Understands and uses a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and support the development of the learner.
Rationale:
This lesson demonstrates the Maine Standards for Initial Teacher Certification in a number of ways. First a pre-unit assessment will be used to gage the student’s previous knowledge of government types so that lessons can be adjusted to better meet the student's learning needs. In this lesson a pre and post assessment will be used to assess understanding and provide student with immediate feedback on their personal understanding. A questionnaire and checklist will be provide support and guide the learner in research and will be utilized by the students as a self assessor and by the teacher as a formative assessment. A rubric for the lesson Wiki page will provide students with a resource to self assess their product. They will peer review and give feedback which continue develop the students understanding of the executive branch and the connection of our government to other nations. Students will use a blog to journal feedback on the lesson for the teacher to use in assessing information understanding. The student's lesson Wiki page will be the summative assessment for the lesson.

Teaching and Learning Sequence:

The room will be arranged in groups of four. As the students enter the room "Hail to the Chief" will be playing and other patriotic music will play while they bring up their computers to comment on their winter and spring partner's Lesson 5 Wiki page. On the board will be written, "What does the President actually do?" When they are done the teacher show one or two of the Barney Cam videos and students will free write a paragraph on what they think the President actually does. This will be collected.

Agenda

Hail to the Chief - http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/USA/
Comment on Winter and Spring Wiki pages
Barney Cam http://www.whitehouse.gov/query.html?charset=iso-8859-1&col=colpics&qt=Barney+Cam&st=1

Pre assessment paragraph - collect
Jigsaw Cabinet Members
Research limits the Executive branch can impose on the Judiciary and Legislative branches.
Inspiration
Post assessment

In this lesson students will understand the ideals, purposes, principles, structures, and processes of constitutional government in the United States and in the American political system, as well as examples of other forms of government and political systems in the world by learning about all the cabinet members and why they are there. This will help them understand that the President's job is a lot more difficult than we may think and he/she can not make everyone happy. The students will build a Lesson 6 Wiki page on the Executive Branch and Cabinet members that included an Inspiration diagram that includes a brief description of the member’s responsibilities and why the President would include them on his Cabinet and a paragraph on the difference between their first and last paragraph.
Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailor: Verbal, Spatial, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal


The students will be given a Research Guide/Checklist (see attach) to guide them in the research of the President's Cabinet which includes: the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments-the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Under President George W. Bush, Cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Director, National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative. During the jig saw the teacher will assess understanding while mingling and asking questions in the various groups. The completed checklist's can also be used as assessment of information and the Inspiration diagrams will be used to assess for understanding. During the time that the students are building their diagrams the teacher can offer feedback to students.
Equip, Tailor: Verbal, Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal

At the beginning of this lesson students will be given a Research Guide/Checklist (see attached). During this lesson students will placed into four groups to jig saw their assigned Cabinet members and teach their peers. In the groups there will be a designated recorder, time-keeper, computer researcher, and leader. Students will be able to explain that the study of government includes the structures, functions, institutions, and forms of government and the relationship of government to citizens in the United States and in other regions of the world when they have completed their research and Lesson Wiki. The evidence of learning will be apparent when they are teaching their jig saw groups about the Cabinet members that they researched. Learning will also be evident in their Inspiration diagram. The biggest evidence of learning in this lesson is the pre and post assessment paragraphs. There will be multiple opportunities for the students to rethink and revise their work. During their diagram building they will have time to ask clarifying questions as the teacher offers individual feedback. They will be able to revise their Wiki Lesson page after they comment on their peer's work and receive comment's on their own work.
Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Refine, tailor: Verbal, Spatial, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal

The students will be provided with a check list on the Research Guide (see attached) and rubric (see attached) for their Wiki Lesson. They will be able to use these tools for self assessment. The will also be able to self assess their understanding in the pre and post assessment. The diagram that they build in this lesson will be used in building the unit assessment product. The students can still refine their final Wiki page for this lesson after the teacher provides feed back and receive full participation points if they choose.
Rethink, Revise, Refine, Tailor: Verbal, Interpersonal, Interpersonal